Becoming (9 page)

The crowd cleared and he pushed the stranger
to the back of his mind as he moved back up to his seat. He grabbed
the backpack from where he had left it and lifted it into the
compartment above him.

“Can I help you with that?” the flight
attendant asked from behind him.

Surprised, he finished setting the bag in the
compartment and replied, “Oh—no, ma’am, but I do appreciate the
offer.”

“My pleasure,” she said with a smile. Then
she held out the two champagne flutes filled with orange juice that
she held. “For you and your girl.”

He grinned. “Why, thank you. I like the sound
of that.”

As he took the champagne flutes and moved to
sit back down with them, he missed the attendant catching the eye
of the businesswoman in 4B, bringing a hand to her chest and
mouthing, “Oh, my!” The businesswoman fluttered her lashes
dramatically and fanned herself in response.

“See anything interesting out there?” Gabriel
asked Amber as he sat beside her.

She was staring out the window, watching
everything with rapt attention. The sun had risen above the airport
now, bathing everything in a soft orange-yellow glow. Sunlight
danced on her hair, which was pulled back only at the temples and
spilled down her back in soft curls, the frizz tamed by whatever
styling products Mrs. B had forced upon her. He found himself
resisting the impulse to run his fingers through it.

“I’m glad we didn’t pack anything terribly
fragile,” she observed dryly. “They sure don’t seem to treat the
luggage with much delicacy.”

When she turned and saw him holding the
orange juice, her eyes flashed in surprise and pleasure. To him,
the smile that lit her face outshined the early morning sun. He
handed her a glass and proposed, “A toast?”

“A toast,” she agreed. After a brief thought,
she added, “To endings and beginnings.”

He caught her sparkling gaze and nodded. They
touched glasses and took sips of the sweet juice. “I’m especially
excited about the beginnings,” he said.

“Me, too,” she admitted. Reaching over, she
put her hand over his. “Thank you for this, Gabriel. It’s an
absolutely perfect gift.”

“How’s the orange juice?” the flight
attendant asked, stopping by on her way to check in with the other
first class passengers.

Turning, he gave her a smile. “It’s great,
thanks.”

“Absolutely. Just let me know when you’re
ready for refills.”

When the attendant moved on to the next row,
Amber nudged him. Her eyes were laughing when he glanced over. “You
should really consider dialing it back on the charm there, hon. You
have all of the ladies in the first ten aisles of the plane giving
you the yum-yum.”

“The ‘yum-yum?’” he repeated.

“Yeah.” She slid her gaze deliberately from
his head down to his toes. “Yum yum.”

“Oh.” He felt embarrassment flood his
face.

She sipped her juice and grinned. Lowering
her voice to a conspiratorial tone, she added, “That’s how I look
at you when you’re not paying attention.”

When his lower jaw fell a couple of inches,
she laughed heartily. She shook her head at him and then turned
when something outside the window caught her attention.

Glancing surreptitiously over his shoulder,
Gabriel spotted the businesswoman staring at him. She looked
chagrined over having been caught gawking, but gave him a
half-smile and wave. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed
several other gazes focused on him. All of those gazes—with the
notable exception of the increasingly weird blond guy from 10D—were
from women.

Hunkering down in his seat and facing
forward, he fought mortification. Most of the women looking at him
were old enough to be his mother.

Amber turned back to him and saw his
expression. She must have realized he had confirmed her theory.
Patting his hand in a show of sympathy, she said, “It comes with
being so polite and gentlemanly,” she guessed. “I just don’t think
people are used to that kind of behavior anymore.”

“You think that’s it?”

“Mm-hmm.”

He considered that and sipped his orange
juice. He supposed that had some merit.

Then she had to go and ruin it by adding,
“
And
, you’re just plain gorgeous.”

It was just after 7:00 p.m. Alaskan Standard
Time when their plane touched down in Anchorage, and the sun was
still bright in the sky. Gabriel knew from his research that there
would be nearly twenty-four hours of sunlight in Anchorage this
time of year as the summer solstice approached. It was, without a
doubt, one of the strangest things he had ever experienced. And
with his body’s clock telling him it was 11:00 p.m., the cheery
sunlight seemed even stranger.

“I don’t think I have ever been this
exhausted before just from sitting,” Amber commented as the plane
taxied up to their gate. She rolled her head in an attempt to
stretch her neck and shoulder muscles.

Reaching over and gently rubbing the base of
her neck where he felt a knot, he said, “Yeah, but we’re here!”

“Thank goodness.” When the plane lumbered to
a halt and the overhead tones chimed to allow them to remove their
seatbelts, she grinned at him. “Free at last!”

They had the privilege of being among the
first people off the plane, something Amber swore made their
airfare worth whatever price he had paid. He caught her hand and
laced his fingers with hers once they entered the airport terminal.
Although neither of them were experienced travelers, it didn’t take
much more than common sense to follow the tide of passengers
heading in the direction of the clearly identified baggage claim
signs. They looked around with interest as they approached the
baggage claim area and took in the vast amounts of gleaming chrome
and glass comprising the architecture of the airport, as well as
the spectacular outdoor views through the walls of windows.

Amber went in search of the bathroom while
Gabriel waited for the luggage. He chanced to glance across the
circulating baggage handler and noticed the blond businessman from
10D standing and apparently waiting for his own bags. He was once
again staring right at Gabriel. Frowning, he considered approaching
the weird guy to see what was up. Then he noticed Amber’s suitcase
and reached over to heft it off the belt. When he looked up, the
businessman was nowhere to be seen. He shrugged it off. By the time
he had both of their suitcases pulled off the belt, Amber had
approached and he had spotted where they needed to go to get a
taxi.

“It would’ve been nice to have a rental car
to get around in,” she said as they wheeled their luggage outside
and over to the taxi stand. “Seems crazy that you have to be
twenty-five to rent from most places.”

“Sure,” he agreed easily. “But I guess we’ll
count ourselves lucky that we were able to get Mrs. Harris and Mrs.
B to sign off on us taking this trip on our own even though you’re
not eighteen yet.”

“True.”

They were second in line behind an older
couple at the taxi stand. Gabriel had pulled their hoodies out of
the suitcases and insisted that Amber put hers on before they
stepped outside. As the wind gusted and pulled at her hair and he
saw her shiver, he was glad he had. It felt like the temperature
was sitting around sixty degrees. A far cry from the nearly ninety
they had left behind.

It didn’t take long for them to be shown to a
yellow taxi. Their driver was about Amber’s height and thick
through the chest and waist. He wore a denim jacket over a black
T-shirt and khaki pants with sneakers. His salt-and-pepper hair was
thinning and more than a few wrinkles lined his face. He took their
luggage with a cheerful smile and ushered them toward the back
seat. Gabriel held the door on the passenger side open for Amber,
closed it when she got in, and then walked over to the driver’s
side back door. Their driver watched the procedure without comment
as he closed the trunk.

“Where can I take you two today?” he asked as
he got into the driver’s seat and secured his seat belt.

Gabriel appreciated that the driver didn’t
sound condescending. He hadn’t been sure what to expect as far as
service when it came to them being teenagers. He gave the driver
the address of the two-bedroom guest house in the downtown area
they had rented with Mrs. B’s assistance.

“You two visiting us from the south?”

“Yes, sir,” Gabriel said, squeezing Amber’s
knee in amusement. “Guess the accents gave us away, huh?”

The driver gave a nod and short bark of
laughter. “Welcome to Anchorage. You picked a great time of year to
visit.”

While the driver rattled off facts and
tidbits about the city that they had already learned in their
research, Amber gazed out the window at the mountains in the
distance. Gabriel, on the other hand, kept his eyes on her. The air
of eagerness and adventure that had gotten her out of bed hours
before her usual time still clung to her like an aura. He couldn’t
remember ever seeing her this unguarded. It was as though she had
determined she was going to let go of her usual reservations and
actually enjoy the moment.

Coming to Alaska had always been her dream.
He knew that to be here now was a major accomplishment. He was very
glad that he was a part of it.

They pulled up at the rental house about
fifteen minutes later. He opened his door and walked around to the
other side to open Amber’s. She waited for him out of habit, and he
reached down to take her hand and assist her out.

“This place is amazing, Gabriel,” she said
with a contented smile as she got out of the taxi. She looked over
at the slate-gray rental house tucked away among the trees. “It’s
even better than the pictures.”

It was when she caught his gaze that he
froze.

Her eyes were molten gold.

Recognizing the look on Gabriel’s face,
Amber’s smile disappeared. She took his hand and averted her gaze
from the driver, who had opened the trunk and was retrieving their
suitcases.

“I don’t feel any different,” she whispered
tensely. “In fact, I feel great.”

Nodding after a brief moment of
consideration, he said, “Go on up to the house and see if you can
find the key where the rental agency said it would be. There should
be a lockbox. I’ll take care of the luggage.”

She gave his hand one last squeeze and turned
to do what he said. She numbly followed the short, paved path
leading from the driveway to the front door, barely registering her
surroundings.

What is happening to me?
she wondered
bleakly. Was she putting Gabriel in danger? The very thought
pierced her heart.

The lockbox was right by the front door where
the rental agency had indicated. She entered the code they had been
given and the box opened to reveal a single silver key on a cheap,
yellow plastic keychain listing the rental agency’s name and phone
number. As she inserted the key into the lock and turned it, she
heard the suitcases being wheeled up the sidewalk behind her.

“Let me get that,” Gabriel said, releasing
the suitcase handles and stepping forward to open the dark red
front door.

“Thanks,” she murmured, walking into the
house and letting him handle the suitcases.

The entry opened directly into a living
room/kitchen combination with warm, honey-toned hardwood floors and
similarly shaded wood cabinets topped with Formica countertops that
looked like flecked, dark-gray stone. Immediately to the right of
the entrance at the edge of the kitchen was a small, round wood
table covered with colorful placemats and surrounded by four wood
chairs. To the left sat a comfortable-looking deep blue couch
positioned in front of a wood-and-glass entertainment unit
supporting a flat-panel television set. The walls were decorated
with paintings of the Alaskan landscape. A hallway directly in
front of her appeared to lead to the single bathroom and two
bedrooms that completed the guest house, but she couldn’t seem to
make herself move more than five feet past the entrance.

Gabriel brought the suitcases into the house
and closed the front door. With sunlight coming in through the
three large, gorgeous windows in the living room, there wasn’t any
need to turn on a light. Walking over to her, he reached up and put
his hands on either side of her face. He stared intently into her
eyes.

“This is new,” he said after careful
consideration. “I’m not sure how to describe it, exactly. Your eyes
aren’t quite the same color gold as…when there’s about to be an
Incident.”

Reaching up with her hands, she covered his
wrists. “Tell me the truth. Do you think you’re in any danger,
being with me right now?”

He didn’t answer immediately. If he had, she
would have known he was lying. Instead, he slowly shook his head.
“Something’s happening, but it doesn’t feel violent.”

A ragged sigh of relief escaped her.
Unexpectedly, tears filled her eyes. Startled at her emotional
reaction, she tried to pull away from him. His hold on her
tightened.

“Don’t pull away,” he chided her gently.

A tear escaped. He brushed it away with the
pad of his thumb. Despite her best efforts to control herself,
another tear fell. His gaze tracked the tear’s path down her cheek
with something akin to amazement. The action made her feel
incredibly vulnerable.

“I can’t ever remember seeing you cry before.
All of this held inside there just for me?” He held her gaze for
another moment, communicating without words. Then he pulled her
closer so she could lean into him.

She felt better just holding onto him. The
solid connection seemed to give her strength. His familiar scent
further soothed her, and her tears quickly dried. After another
minute, she pulled back and looked at him.

“I think this is about the corniest thing
I’ve ever said, but I couldn’t stand it if something happened and I
hurt you.”